Married Women Outraged on Behalf of Single Janet Napolitano

The other day, professional gaffe machine and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell accidentally leaned into an open mic and said, regarding Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's appointment to head the Department of Homeland Security, "Janet's perfect for the job, because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19, 20 hours a day to it." Uh oh! Big mistake, Ed. You are guilty of singleism.Campbell Brown and Gail Collins are not happy!

First, Campbell Brown, who's really pushing her likability with this irritating "NO BULLSHIT" thing (is she a Mamet character, CNN?) delievered a special comment full of rhetorical questions that all danced around the simple point that Rendell, though well-meaning, would not have made the same comment about a man of any familial persuasion. (Brown is married to Republican strategist and frequent cable news guest Dan Senor.)

Then secret best Times opinion columnist Gail Collins got involved! She damns Rendell with genial, light-hearted ribbing, as is her wont. She points out that Rendell was engaging in the back-handed justifications of someone who got passed over for a plum job. ("'For that job, you have to be able to drink those salesmen under the table and Ted’s an absolute lush.'") She called him for comment and allowed him to dig his hole deeper by contradicting his first statement in his defense of it (Rendell, too, is a workaholic, despite having a family). And then she called an expert in people who discriminate against single people, or something, which also allows her to get a couple digs against Chris Matthews in. (Gail Collins is married to CBS News senior producer Dan Collins.)

We still haven't heard from confirmed bachelor Napolitano herself, but presumably she's very upset with this mildly sexist remark from a loudmouthed old white guy. But we feel she's perfect for the job too, because she's probably a cloesteded lesbian, and they're very industrious.